Tag: apple watch

This week Apple announced the ship date and details around its first foray onto the wrist, the long-awaited Apple Watch. Of course the press fawned over the details and the design of the device, as the richest company in the world takes on luxury brands like Rolex.

But the watch wasn’t even the most important announcement today. Not when you take into consideration how Apple is approaching the diversity of screen sizes.

We might look back at the announcement of the 12-inch MacBook (note Apple is no longer using the Air name) as the beginning of the end of iPad Era for the company. Over the past few years, the iPad sales have slumped for a variety of reasons, mostly because the pincer maneuver of phones are getting bigger and more useful and computers getting lighter and more efficient with better screen resolutions. The need for a tablet has waned as each of these technology trends eroded the popularity of tablets.

The new Macbook combines a size of an iPad (though slightly larger) with the functionality that once was only available in the MacBook Air or Pro lines. With a Retina display, Apple hopes the 12-inch MacBook will lead lots of iPad consumers to consider it instead. Earlier this year, CEO Tim Cook stated he believes Macs are cannibalizing iPad sales.

Mac Daddy
Apple sold 5.5 million Macs in their record-breaking quarter that ended in December. Granted, that is a drop in the bucket compared to the company selling 74.4 million iPhones or even the 21 million iPads in the same period, but it still shows the strength Apple has in computers. Although Apple doesn’t break out specific sales per model, the company trumpeted the new iMac with a 5K Retina display as the main driver of the sales.

For several years now Apple has been busy slimming down the laptop by removing features that we thought consumers couldn’t live without. With each version, Apple continued to nip a drive here, tuck an under-utilized port there. The end result: a lightweight, killer machine with terrific battery life that leads the industry. The current MacBook Air 13-inch weighs less than three pounds and boasts a performance very close to the MacBook Pro version.

Simplest Mac Ever
For the new MacBook, Apple is even stripping away more, leaving only a headphone jack and one multi-functioning port. The machine takes advantage of the new Intel mobile device microchip, allowing for more battery life and lighter weight. The machine comes in at two pounds that can last all day.

What Apple kept, though, and even greatly improved, was the keyboard. Fact is that despite all the tablet hoopla, consumers like a keyboard. Even Microsoft understood this and added the colorful detachable keyboard to the Surface line.

Some have commented that the machine doesn’t really seem like a real computer. But what a real computer is has changed. Sure the new Macbook isn’t going to perform when crunching massive Excel files or editing video. And yeah, the company is selling a $79 dongle that many hardcore business users will need to project a presentation on a screen.

But devices have been trending toward wireless transmission for years now. I don’t suppose that we’re going back to a wired world anytime soon. The need for a bunch of ports is fading fast.

Apple has clearly seen the future of computing and is creating a device that will just go ahead and compete directly with iPad. It is something that other companies would avoid at all costs. But Apple has seen the writing on the wall and is adopting its strategy to take advantage of the trend.

The WatchmanYes, the Apple Watch does suggest a shift for the company. It is reminiscent of its big audacious bets with the iPod and iPhone. By creating a huge market that didn’t exist previously, the company believes it can dominate like no other. The iPad was meant to be another example of making a market.

Only time will tell if Apple is able to make a mass market out of wearables. But by re-envisioning what computing looks like in the future and aggressively changing its product, it could be that the new MacBook ends up being the biggest winner from this week’s announcements.